IN JUSTICE TO AIEXICO.- 



The Nation that Never Had a Chance. 



BY PAUL KERSCII. 

II 



No American judge or jury would find guilty or punish a poor 
creature, begging for a chance he never had, born of tainted 
parentage, and reared in impossible surroundings ; such a one 
would be committed to corrective treatment and kind care and 
given his chance and any other course would be resented. After 
familiarizing ourselves Avith the history of Mexico we can arrive 
at no other conclusion but that her wretched people are the irre- 
sponsible victims of precisely the same influences and that they, 
too, never had a chance. Rather than to insist on their punish- 
ment or the forfeiture of their independence for which they suf- 
fer-ed and bled as have no other people in modern times and which 
they finally won for their country, but, alas, not for themselves, 
we should insist on their being given the chance for which they 
are begging, to which they are entitled and to which we alone 
may help them. 

God has endowed most of his children with the taunting capac- 
ity to behold in their dreams the "Ideal Land," upon the children 
of Mexico alone seems He to have bestowed the golden realitv, 
lavishing upon their land all the gifts and graces for which the 
weltschmerz of the ages has yearned and wept in vain. 

The merciful hand of Providence has bestowed on the [Mexicans 
a magnificent land, abounding in resources of every kind — a land 
where none ought to be poor and where misery ought not to lie 
known — a land whose products and riches of every kind abound, 
and are as varied as they are rich. It is a country endowed to pro- 
fusion with every gift that men desire and envy; every sort of 
climate from the eternal snows to the glories of the tropics en- 
shrined in the majestic beauty of heaven itself, and of inconceiv- 
able fertility. 

*Copf right 1916, Paul Kcrsch. 



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■Ml'. c'()i\"ii-:m I'dKAin' ci.ri!. 



Thus (loci g'ave i)ara(lisc and men, His men, the children of 
Christ, befouled its immaculate beaut}' with all the hideous filth 
of hades. 

■'.Mother of Western civilization; cradle of the American race! 
A thousand years have been gathered into the sheaf of time since 
her first cities were built. When the Norsemen coasted our 
northern shores she had towns and villages, and white-walled 
temples and palaces. When the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth 
Rock, a hundred years had already passed since the soldiers of 
Cortes had battled with the hosts of IMontezuma. 

"( )f all that vast empire which once acknowledged the authority 
of Spain in the New World, no portion, for interest and import- 
ance, can be compared with IMexico ; and this equally, whether we 
consider the variet}- of its soil or climate ; the inexhaustible stores 
of its mineral wealth ; its scenery, grand and picturesque, beyond 
example ; the character of its ancient inhabitants, not only far 
surpassing in intelligence that of the other North American races, 
but reminding us, b}' their monuments, of the civilizations of 
ancient Egypt and Hindustan : or lastly, the stirring circumstances 
of its conquest, adventurous and romantic as any legend devised 
bv Norman or Italian bard of chivalry, and as sad and inexorable 
as anv tragedy devised by classic Greece."" — Prescott. 

THl-: CONQUEST OF MKXICO. 

This, then, w^as the fairyland which Hernando Cortes and his 
band of fortune hunters beheld when they landed on its shores on 
April 12, 15 19, and found it in possession of the Aztec Indians, 
who had developed a surprising system of government, education, 
and culture, which had produced a happy, hardy race of unso- 
phisticated morals and clean character, proper enough, Cortes 
seems to have thought in Christian people, but altogether un- 
warranted in heathenish folk. As it became quickly evident that 
the countr}- was fabulously rich in precious metal he determined 
to conc[uer it at all cost, and, under the pretext of the Cross (now- 
adays he would have done it in the name of civilization or the 
"Hoehere Kultur," no doubt), and the aid of other Indians, whom 
he later promptly betrayed, he succeeded three years later ; burn- 

^ -^ — . 
QCI,A44S789 



DEC 26 1916 >H. f / 



IN JUSTICE TO MEXICO. 3 

ing cities, temples and libraries, butchering- or enslaving the 
natives, ravishing their women, and killing their trustful kings. 
His reward was the governorship of New Spain, as the Spaniards 
named the land. From 1525 to 1821 their possessions in Mexico 
and Central America were jointly ruled by sixty-seven viceroys, 
for tlie most Spanish nobles, prelates, or court politicians who 
sought and administered the position for selfish purposes, chiefly 
with the idea of repairing their delapidated fortunes. They were 
responsible to the Spanish king only and the powerful and corrupt 
"Consejo de las Indias" thousands of miles away, and during 
their regime of nearly three centuries, country and natives were 
ruthlessly exploited for the sole benefit of a few favorites, the 
hierarchy and the crown. Foreigners were excluded, the natives 
kept in ignorance, education being monopolized by the clergy, and 
the best land, the most profitable commerce, and all the influential 
offices were held by the Spaniards and their sycophants, while 
enormous fortunes were being wrung from the coerced and en- 
slaved natives, who in the dense ignorance and dark superstition 
intentionally imposed upon them, suffered in helpless silence. The 
two or three of the many viceroys who did attempt to better the 
lot of the natives are conspicuous in Mexican history, and their 
memory is revered even today, but their efforts left no impression 
and the plight of the miserable natives remained as before. 
Their doom seemed sealed when in 1571 the Tribunal of Inquisi- 
tion was formally established in Mexico with its purpose of sup- 
pressing the activities of possible reformers and of persecuting all 
those who showed dangerous liberal ideas and gathered too much 
power and influence. Not until two hundred and fifty years later 
was it suppressed, after a reign of persecution and terror as bloody 
and wanton as any page of its infamous history in Spain. 

THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 

Finally, however, the members of the Spanish hierar'^'- ^ having 
grown soft and indolent in their power and opulence, no longer 
willing to ■ shoulder the arduous burdens of the humble parish 
priests, decided to admit a few chosen natives to their monopolized 
educational institutions for the purpose of filling these places. 



4 THE CONTEMPORARY CLUl?. 

Within a few years these priests be.Q-an to apply their education for 
the good of their humble flocks, and the spirit of revolt long 
smouldering bursted into furious flames. It came to a head under 
the leadership of one of their number, ^Miguel Hidalgo, who in 
1810 with his "Grito de Dolores" sounded the death-knell of 
Spanish misrule in iNlexico, though he and other leaders of his 
untrained Indian armies after their defeat were promptly executed, 
as was four years later his successor, another parish priest, Maria 
Morales. 

During 1810, until 1821, when Iturbide's defeating the Spanish 
forces, made himself Emperor of ^Mexico, the fires of revolution 
had incessantly been raging, drenching the country with the blood 
of its sons. But the new emperor selling- out to the elements who 
had enjoyed most of the power and wealth under the Spanish 
regime, and who were now scheming not only to retain Avhat thev 
had but to possess themselves of that considerable portion which 
had gone to the Spanish crown before, gave rise to another out- 
break, led by General Santa Ana, who, after defeating the emperor, 
proclaimed the first republic and had Iturbide executed when in 
1824 he returned from his exile and backed by his old support 
attempted to overthrow the republic. 

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 

Yet, still no peace ! A great conflict began raging between the 
conservatives, consisting of the old privileged classes and the 
liberals, embracing the republican elements, and Spain perceiving 
in the turmoil an opportunity of seizing Mexico once more sent an 
army across in 1829. Utterly defeated Spain's power came to an 
end, but not until 1836 did she finally recognize r\Iexico"s inde- 
pendence. In the meantime revolutionary outbreaks had con- 
tinued incessantly, and what peace there was, was maintained by 
force of arms. Conditions did not improve, when in 1832 Santa 
Ana obtained the presidency. Shrewd, courageous, but unprin- 
cipled, this gifted Creole was quick to espouse any cause promising 
personal advancement, and during his regime the republic was 
in constant turmoil, precluding any material or educational prog- 
ress. After his overthrow some of the democratic spirits of that 



IN JUSTICE TO MEXICO. 5 

epoch attempted seriously to combat retrogression by working for 
the absokite liberty of the press ; the abolishment of special class 
privileges, which gave the clergy and army great advantages over 
the masses ; the separation of church and state, including the sup- 
pression of monastic institutions ; the restoration and maintenance 
of the national credit by a readjustment of the public debt ; and a 
number of other reforms, which would have worked for the 
country's good. But no sooner did they proceed to execute them 
when the old reactionaries got behind Santa Ana, restive in his 
retirement, who soon assumed the unlimited powers of dictator- 
ship, while the lovers of liberal institutions and good government 
looked on without the power to interfere. Mexico's reputation 
for unstability was now assured. The people were regarded as 
restless, revolutionary, and savage. The republic now became a 
mihtary oligarchy, and until 1847 the supreme power was vested 
in who ever happened to be at the time the most successful military 
leader. Conditions in Mexico were anarchical, life and property 
were unsafe, education impossible, and the reputation of the 
country was at its worst. To add to the general suffering and 
demoralization Texas had seceded, and its absorbtion by the 
United States culminated in war which lasted until 1848, and re- 
sulted in the cession to the northern republic of the Mexican ter- 
ritory now comprising the states of New Mexico and California, 
and in the retirement of Santa Ana. Only one short year of peace 
followed, and for the first time in Mexican history was a constitu- 
tionally elected president allowed to take his seat. But no sooner 
did he attempt a reform administration, than the old reactionary 
crowd caused another wide spread revolutionary movement and 
made Santa Ana once more dictator of Mexico, and now followed 
the most vicious and despotic period the miserable country had yet 
known. The press was muzzled, high liberals were executed or 
imprisoned, and on December 16, 1853, Santa Ana issued a decree 
declaring himself "Perpetual Dictator." But revolution long- 
brewing forced him in 1855 to leave the country. 

Shorn of much territory, utterly exhausted and demoralized a 
period of comparative cjuiet followed. A great program was 
being prepared the following years in a legislative way in freeing 



b THE CON'TKArPORAKV CLUl!. 

the natives of their bondage and ignorance by I'residents Comon- 
fort and Benito Juarez, but their splendid efforts were still largely 
confined to paper when in 1861 a h^rench army invadccl Mexico 
and war and revolution rag'ed again for six long years, terminat- 
ing all reforms and once more subjecting the country to general 
prostration. Finally, in 1867, when the iM-ench army was forced 
to depart under demands from the United States government, 
and the thus deserted Emperor Maximilian was captured and 
executed after a short and turbulent reign of three years, the way 
seemed clear for peace and reform, but soon the jealousies of con- 
testing leaders brought on another series of revolutionary out- 
breaks, and not until 1876, when General Diaz had succeeded in 
defeating all his opponents and victoriously entered the capital did 
Mexico finally find a semblance of rest. 

Between 1821 and 1876 the Mexican form of government was 
changed twelve times, over fifty-five men succeeding each other 
as presidents, dictators, or emperors, and more than three hundred 
revolutionary outbreaks marked that period, as well as three bloody 
wars. If there ever was a child among the nations of the world 
who never had a chance, surely Mexico is the one ! 

Where such remnants of the feudal system as special grants, 
charters, and privileges of every kind were suffered to creep in 
and to harden into vested and hereditary rights as in Mexico 
either by the hands who' guided Mexico's fortunes or through the 
unwary illiteracy and ignorance of the masses the continuous 
cycle of unproductive physical revolutions which characterize 
Mexico's history from the Spanish overthrow to the present time 
was as inevitable as it was logical, and the worst of it was that it 
prevented the correction of its chief cause, namely general school- 
ing and education, thus cutting off all prospects for the future. 

Much of the long reign of President Diaz was necessarily taken 
up with the elementary reconstruction of civil government and 
the rehabilitation of Mexico's industries and finances, and while 
he conceived a very elaborate program of enforced general edu- 
cation, little was done in the way of carrying it out, and at the 
time of its overthrow over eighty-five per cent of the fifteen mil- 
lion of ^lexican people remained totally illiterate. Since his fall. 



IN JUSTICE TO MEXICO. 7 

in 1911, the old history of Mexico has been repeating itself with 
accelerated speed and virnlence, leaving the lot of the people as 
hopeless as ever. 

Too trustful and guileless in their ignorance to suspect their 
leaders who served them only, with few laudable exceptions, so as 
to deliver them more securely to this or that set of foreign or 
domestic exploiters, these miserable people were continually rob- 
bed of the fruits of their unparalleled sacrifices. As long as the 
masses remained ignorant, the interests had nothing to fear from 
within, and from without there were only the United States who 
mig"ht make it uncomfortable for them. To discredit this source 
of danger and to turn it to their own advantage, if possible, they 
cunningly and systematically set out to villify the character and to 
discredit the intentions of the United States. True, heretofore, 
the governments of the United States had proved rather obliging 
than otherwise, but the)' would take no chances and prepare for 
one that might some day accidentally represent and act in the 
spirit of the American people and set out to expose and discredit 
them, break their strangle hold on the Mexican masses and punish 
them for the crimes against life and property in Mexico rather 
than be intrigued into making war which would only further 
punish a long suffering people for crimes committed by their 
feudal betrayers, allowing- them to escape unpunished and with 
their pockets full. 

THE INTERNAL PROBLEMS OF MEXICO. 

The internal problems of Mexico are primarily, of course, the 
cursed legacy of imperial Spain. Hopelessly left behind in the 
onward progression of adjacent development, Mexico with its 
marvelous resources coveted by a hungry world has proved a great 
stumbling block in the Avay of America's peaceful policy and 
progress. 

Europe is now paying- the bloodiest toll in all history as a result 
of a similar legacy left by imperial Turkey in the Balkan Penin- 
sula. 

Nor is the analogy between the Mexican and the Balkan prob- 
lems far fetched, differing mainly in degree through the European 



8 Tllli CONTEMPORARY CLUB. 

cirounistaiicc's of a greater multiplicity of sovereignties, a greater 
exhaustion of natural resources, and a denser population, and also 
in the sinister fact that the Mexican problem has a bi-hcmispheric 
as well as an hemispheric significance these days. 

Three centuries of Spanish despotism in Mexico dominated 
solelv by the big'otry and lusts of the conquering race, giving little 
or no thouglit to the uplift and education of the subjected masses, 
followed by fifty years of almost continuous bloody revolutions 
and wars, left them in dense ignorance, dark superstition, in hope- 
less poverty, and constitutionally vitiated, easy victims of an un- 
scrupulous and unrestrained minority of education, energy, and 
intelligence that absorbed most of the substance and all of the 
power. 

Wlvdt mattered it, when after the breakup of the Spanish 
dominion, Alexico acquired formal independence. The slave- 
drivers of the old era gave way to other slave-drivers, if not in 
name, certainly in substance, and if not by intention, certainly as 
the inevitable consequence of their superior energy and intelligence, 
for the masses had remained neglected. 

What mattered it when Benito Juarez finally dispossessed it and 
formalh' freed the masses by giving them a constitution patterned 
after that of the United States. Many decades have passed since, 
including three of comparative peace and tranquility under the 
regime of Diaz, afifording all the time and every opportunity for 
the fruits of the constitution and the restored equality of oppor- 
tunity to develop, and yet the conditions today are nothing but a 
serene continuation of the impossible conditions Juarez attempted 
to remedy and Diaz hoped ultimately to meet by his phenomenal 
resurrection of Mexico's industries, finances, and credit. 

THE VAIN EFFORTS OF DIAZ. 

It is doing a great injustice to the memory of this sterling 
character, devoted patriot, and extraordinary executive to accuse 
him of wilfull}- selling out to foreign interests and playing into 
the liands of the old crowd wdio had remained in the saddle in 
spite of countless revolutions. The truth is that he had no other 
alternative but to accept their assistance in developing the re- 
sources of the republic so that as quickly as possible sufficient 



IN JUSTICE TO MEXICO. 9 

revenues conld be secured to establish stable civil governments 
throughout the country, build harbors and roads, reinstate 
Mexico's foreign credit, and secure impatient foreign creditors 
and claimants who might menace the peace of the country. Never 
for a single moment did he give up his determination of freeing 
the lands for his beloved Indians and peons, had in fact worked 
out a most comprehensive scheme to accomplish this object and 
an extensive colonization project besides, ready to be put in opera- 
tion just as soon as the financial, economic, and transportation con- 
ditions were in proper shape for it. But when that time had come 
and he disclosed his project and urged its immediate execution, it 
was too late. The interests he had befriended had grown too 
powerful and would brook no curtailment of their rights and hold- 
ings such as his plans demanded, and they turned against him and 
used the desperation of the impoverished masses they had been 
sucking dry for a generation to unseat him. Feudalism and his 
neglect to educate the masses accomplished his downfall and "his 
really gigantic work of reconstruction would neither save him nor 
his Mexicans. 

When the course of feudalism ran as unbridled and undisturbed 
as it had during his long tenure, sooner or later the time had to 
come when a constantly increasing volume of substance, power, 
and opportunity, falling into the hands of a constantly diminishing 
number, would leave so httle for a correspondingly increasing 
number as to make impossible a middle class, the indispensable 
backbone of all republics, and throwing the economic and political 
equilibrium so out of proportion that a peaceful adjustment was 
no longer possible. 

THE LESSON. 

Thus the lesson of the fate of this truly great man and the 
lessons from the agony and convulsions of a bleeding continent, 
which are now humbling the intellects of the rulers and ruling 
classes of Europe, are re-yielding this simple and mighty truth, a 
truth as old as organized society had men but stopped in their 
greed to heed it. "As govermncnts safeguard the welfare of their 
masses in times of peace, so shall the masses safeguard their go-z'- 
ernments in times of storm and stress." 



lO THE CONTK^rPORARV CLVV,. 

The inauguration of free political institutions, and of an e(|ualit\' 
of material opportunity proved easy enong-h, but their maintenance 
in Mexico, as in China, and in a modified degree in Russia, re- 
quired more than a piece of parchment. As liberty can not long 
endure in the absence of an equality of material opportunity, so 
becomes the latter impossible in the absence of an equality of in- 
tellectual opportunity, that is, in the absence of the fruits of en- 
forced general education. 

Both liberty and general prosperit}- are incompatible with igno- 
rance and superstition. They cannot be achieved by great tumults 
alone, such as Hidalgo first, later Juarez and Diaz, and finallx' 
JMadero and Carranza brought about, but evolve in the degree onl}' 
as knowledge and enlightenment develop in the masses. Thev are 
the result and ultimate end of the great inherent process of pro- 
gressive evolution which makes its way with knowledge only, 
sometimes advancing with peaceful steps, as in the United States, 
sometimes overturning the barriers that stand in the way amid the 
din of wars and revolutions. It is the condition of society where 
will is excluded and law is made on an objective reason, which 
convinces man's judgment that it is equitable 

These are the terms which are prescribed by the laws of man's 
constitution. Without them permanent and general libert}" and 
general prosperit}^ are but visions at the end of a rainbow, danger- 
ous catch-words to draw the physical sacrifice of the masses, in- 
dispensable to the success of contesting self-seekers and advent- 
urers who fatten on disorder. 

Thus the revolution of 191 1, born as it may have been of loft\- 
aim, has long since degenerated into a blind and sordid game of 
contesting opportunities, kept agoing by the thousands reduced to 
starvation and abject dependence, who have more to hope from 
disorder than from peace, and wdio follow such leaders, who, for 
the time being', afiford them the best protection and living con- 
ditions. 

But the fuel that once fed the fires is giving out and Mexico is 
nearing a similar general exhaustion to that which enabled Diaz 
in 1876 to establish temporary peace and order. . 



IN JUSTICE TO MEXICO. II 

But though there now appeared a leader of even superior 
powers, peace would be short lived unless basic conditions were 
changed. And even though he succeeded in re-establishing a 
practical ec^uilibrium of material opportunity by making available 
for the masses all of the untoiled lands, mines, and forests, his 
efforts would still be in vain, imless his government were strong 
and honest and long-lived enough to protect them against their 
own ignorance, improvidence, and uncontrolled passions, while 
their general education and regeneration Avere being accomplished. 

That such a government could be had and maintained during 
that critical period without the friendly and watchful co-operation 
of one or more of the leading- powers of this continent is sad!}- 
doubtful. 

But in any event, not until the schoolmaster and the hygienist 
have accomplished their herculean labors will jMexico be safe and 
the United States not endangered. 

OUR RELATIONS WITH MEXICO. ■ 

Our ownership of the Panama Canal gave JMexico the most 
strategic position as concerns the interests of the United States. 
Protective though our intentions are in maintaining a trespass 
sign over our weaker, but no less proud neighbor's home, it will 
tax all our fiber, patience, tact, and diplomacy to have him accept 
our unsolicited patronage in good grace, and in good faith, when 
tempting foreign alliances and advances, threats, pressure, or in- 
vasion knock at his door. 

Being without a strong government, without any coast defenses, 
any army or navy to speak of, being the constant playball of self- 
seeking, intriguing factions, and men not above selling out their 
country to obtain power or to control affairs, deeplv in foreign 
debt, but teeming with untold wealth, bidding fair to become the 
leading producer of gold, silver, copper, and oil, oil one of the in- 
dispensables of modern warfare (with five of the leading nations 
now at war, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Japan, 
producing little or none)," JMexico is a country particularlv sus- 
ceptible to foreign aggression, thus endangering our own safety. 



12 Till-: (.ox IKMPORARV CLLD. 

When in addition we consider that nearly one-half of ^Mexico's 
area lies north of our southern most point (Key West) ; that the 
distance between Xew York and Yokohoma over her trans- 
isthmian railroad is 1,256 miles less than via the Isthmus of 
Panama: that Hawaii is 1,273 miles nearer via the Tehuantepec 
railroad : that Cuba is as near to the Mexican shore as it is to ours ; 
when all these facts are considered, together with many others, 
which space forbids enumerating", we must come to the realization 
that the ]\Iexican situation involves more than a settltment of the 
differences and claims arising from recent events. 

If ^lexico should permit our enemies to use her fertile plains as 
a base, her convenient harbors and stragetic railroads for the 
landing and transportation of hostile troops and war material, our 
glorious waterway will be hopelessly exposed to land attack, while 
our troops would be forced to fight their way through ^Mexico to 
reach Panama overland, a most stupenduoi^s task, or else depend 
on our naval forces to land them on the Isthmus in large enough 
numbers and quick enough time to prevent disaster. 

If on the other hand, Alexico be found on our side, placing her 
territory and resources at our disposal, enemies would be placed 
at so tremendous a disadvantage in trying to take and hold our 
Panama possessions as likely to deter them altogether. 

Siicli friendly attitude on Mexico's part zvould constitute the one 
safe and efficient fortification of the Canaf as zcell as an essential 
part of any program of Preparedness. 

]Mere contractual neutrality would be worse than useless. In 
the event of an attack on our detached possessions, we would be 
forced to make use of her territor\- in one way or the other, while 
her own military and naval strength would be insufficient to en- 
force neutrality against a foreign power determined to make use 
of her territory. 

Equally useless under her form of government and present and 
prospective internal conditions would prove a contractual treaty 
calling for mutual co-operation against foreign invasion. Such 
co-operation could never be enforced against the will of the 
Mexican people, even though everyone of her succeeding ad- 
ministrations were to act in eood faith. 



IX JUSTICE TO MEXICO. I3 

Yet Mexico's strategic location makes it imperative for this 
nation to command ^Mexico's co-operation at all times and at the 
same time makes it very expedient to have her defensive strength 
adequately developed. \\'ithout such effective co-operation the 
canal remains strategically our great weakness rather than the 
great strength it was intended to be. 

Xot that there is any immediate danger of foreign invasion of 
any part of this continent, but statesmanship must take such an 
eventuality into consideration in meeting present difficulties if it 
is to serve the nation beyond the tomorrow. 

The unswerving steering toward a definite end when the needs 
to be serv^ed are not generally apprehended because they affect the 
more distant future, and at a time when more immediate difficulties 
and apparently humiliating situations would seem to demand a 
drastically contrary course is one of the most difficult and un- 
popular tasks statesmanship has to face. Thus a policy that might 
offer a quick and satisfactory way out of the present difficulties 
arising from 3iIexico"s irresponsible condition might at the same 
time irreparably controvert the most essential part of a policy of 
future safety. Thus in the event of war, ^Mexico's co-operation in 
particular and that of Latin America in general would seem to 
constitute a most essential safeguard, and yet such co-operation 
could not be expected unless our attitude toward ^lexico remained 
friendly and helpfvil. 

There remains but the other alternative of fortifying the nation 
against a grave emergency, permanent military occupation, the 
traditional European method, always followed by disastrous re- 
actions such as the old world is now passing through. 

The application of that method, for example, even in its most 
enlightened and beneficent manner by Austria to her revolution 
ridden neighbors. Bosnia and Herzegovina, precipitated the war 
of 1914; while in contradistinction the application of the traditional 
American method in connection with Cuba brought her independ- 
ence, peace, and prosperity, and resulted to much benefit to the 
United States and the world at large. 

Military occupation of Mexico aside from meaning all the hor- 
rors of a long zi'ar zcoithi, of course, be folio-wed by the mistrust 



14 I'lii-: coxTi:.MPOR.\Kv CLun. 

(//;(/ a)ili>pathy of all of Latin America, ^i^'licrcas her confideucc and 
friendship so desirable in times of peace "a'ould be iiii'aliiablc in 
times of war. 

Xor would the task of winning the confidence and lasting good 
will of the Mexican masses be as chimerical as certain interests of 
both countries would have us believe by continually harping on the 
fierce "gringo" hatred supposed to pervade the whole of the 
Mexican mass. 

Even though this hatred were really general it could not be 
decpl\- grounded and hard to live down, being necessarily based on 
hearsay tales, easily disproved, because more than 85 per cent of 
the entire people are totally illiterate and but comparatively few 
have come in direct contact with Americans, and those who have, 
as laborers on American owned farms and mines, have almost in- 
variably been pleased with their treatment and felt kindly disposed. 

Among the remaining 15 per cent there does exist considerable 
dislike if not hatred, partly based on jealousy and partlv due to 
the careless manners, the patronizing airs, intolerance, and pro- 
vincialism of Americans. Here are also to be found the interests, 
self-seeking adventurers, politicians, and agitators, who make the 
preaching and spreading of the gringo hatred their butter, if not 
their bread. Their influence will be finally as nothing, once the 
masses are made to discover that their satanic moster-gringo is 
but a designing myth. 

The lowly Mexican is cjuickly responsive to kindness and is 
lo}"al and grateful to those who befriend him. Kindness and fair- 
ness will win his confidence and conquer his heart. 

Could the United States, for instance, in some way, arrange 
through their consular agents for the weekly distribution of corn, 
beans, and medicine among the millions of starving and ailing 
Mexican men, women, and children, any hatred, mistrust, or ill- 
feeling as might have existed previously would quickly change to 
doglike gratitude and devotion and gringo baiting, the wind in the 
demagogue's sails, would come to an abrupt end and the masses 
would eventually support such leaders and administrations onlv 
as would be friendly to the Ignited States. Perhaps the i!;ra7'e 



IN JUSTICE TO MEXICO. 1 5 

problem of niakiiii:; of Mexico a trusted friend in need niii^lit best 
be solz'ed by sonic such systematic campaii^n of helpfulness. 

Military intervention on the other hand would mean the sending 
of hundreds of good lives after every one life lost in the revolution, 
and the sending of millions of the taxpayer's good dollars after 
the bad dollars of a very few who voluntarily and with their eves 
open preferred to develop the resources of a foreign countrv. 

If by patiently waiting for the certain results of a campaign of 
persistent befriending as against a hasty military campaign of 
doubtful benefits and certain very serious complications, the lives, 
health, morals, and constitutions of thousands of American 
flower could be spared and the country escape the indescribable 
misery of a prolonged occupation, surely none but those bereft 
of all justice and pride or insanely blinded by self-interest could 
ever agitate, or even calmly contemplate the saving or promoting 
of their Mexican ventures with the blood, tears, and contributions 
of a whole nation. 

Let us live up to our traditional policy of the Golden Rule in our 
foreign relations while we yet may. Nation after nation in 
duress is being drawn into a bottomless pit by the raging whirlpool 
of hatred and vengeance, the bloody harvest of Europe's ancient 
worship of the Iron Rule, and who knows but our turn mav come 
after all! 



■^ 






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